Hi! My name is Cecille, and I want to share with you a little story about a big issue – Helping the orphans of this world.

The Lord placed the desire to adopt in my heart in my twenties and sadly, many years later I’ve not yet adopted. However, I’ve discovered a wonderful way that I can do something to help orphans…Show Hope’s Advocates program! Last year, I trained for and competed in running races while earning sponsorship pledges from people. My two daughters and I raised more than $800 for Show Hope by running! We created our own sponsor sheets and found many people who were supportive and eager to help us.

The race I entered and completed was the Missoula Half-Marathon which took place last summer. It was so much FUN, and the kids had a blast too! I have always loved to run, and it has been truly amazing to find ways to combine my passion for running with my passion for helping orphans come home to forever families.

I encourage you to find a sport or other activity you love and create a way to use it to help waiting children! Most importantly, I give all the glory to my Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. Thank you Show Hope for all that you do and for letting me be a part of it!

Sincerely,
Cecille Gillette

January is the perfect time to create a New Year’s resolution and set goals that give back for 2013! Whether you’re getting into shape to run a marathon, or taking up a  creative new hobby, we encourage you to become a Show Hope Advocate and set goals that transform the lives of orphans today!

One of my favorite aspects of my job is getting to know and learn from the families who have been blessed by the generous giving of donors and received grants to bring their children home. In many cases, these conversations happen on a computer screen, but it is even more special when God allows us to do life together. That is the case with my pastor, Jason Egly, and his family, who brought home two daughters from Ethiopia with the help of a Show Hope grant. I am incredibly thankful for their friendship and example and thrilled that Jason is sharing with us in the post below. - Jaimee Marks

“Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people. He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David, just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago.” Luke 1:68-70 NLT.

I have been studying Scripture and preparing sermons for several years now and one of the reasons why I am so passionate about it is because God continues to show me things I have never realized before … even in familiar passages. One such example was a few weeks ago, on the second Sunday of Advent.

I was preparing to teach Luke 1:67-79. In this passage, Zechariah gives a beautiful song of praise to God after the birth of his son John. After 400 years of prophetic silence, God had broken through with the birth of John the Baptist who would prepare the way for the coming Messiah. In his song, Zechariah uses five synonymous words or phrases to describe how God has acted on behalf of His people: He has visited us (v. 68); He has redeemed us (v. 68); He has sent us a mighty Savior (v. 69); He has saved us from our enemies (v. 70); He has remembered His covenant (v. 72); and He has rescued us (v.74).

As I identified these, the one that really seemed odd to me was, “He has visited us.” How is visiting on the same level with redeeming or saving or rescuing us? If I had been writing this, I thought, I am sure I could have come up with a better phrase than “He has visited us.” But seeing how my words are not inerrant and Luke’s are, I decided to dig a little deeper.

The word visit is translated from the Greek word episkeptomai, which means to inspect, examine, or look around; most often in order to help or benefit the poor, afflicted or sick. Ahhhh … now this is beginning to get intriguing. The light bulb in my head is showing signs of a flicker.

Because it had just happened recently, my mind flashed to the image of President Obama paying a visit to the victims of Hurricane Sandy. When a President visits an area that is afflicted by some sort of natural disaster, it is not for the purpose tourism or sightseeing, (and hopefully also not for political maneuvering.) It is to comfort those who are hurting and to promise them that help has arrived, backed by the full resources of the government.

And now the light bulb is burning full blast.

I remembered that James 1:27 says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (ESV, emphasis added.)

To visit.

I have always struggled with this verse because to simply just visit an orphan or a widow in their affliction doesn’t seem like nearly enough. As an adoptive parent, to have simply just visited my little girls while they were in their orphanage in Ethiopia would have seemed pointless. An insult, even. I wanted to bring them home! Immediately!

But what if the James 1:27 visit was the Luke 1:68 kind of visit? Could it be? Surely not. That would be too easy. I looked up the verse in my lexicon and … unbelievable (oh, me of little faith) … there it was, as clear as day: Episkeptomai.

How could I, a pastor, a (wannabe) Greek scholar, adoptive parent, and orphan advocate have missed this?!

Now it makes so much sense! This is why orphan care (and widow care, don’t forget) is so important for the church! Because it is exactly what God did for us. He visited us. And so much more…

When God sent his Mighty Savior Jesus into the world as the Envoy of the Kingdom of Heaven, it was to visit us while we were afflicted by the disastrous consequences of sin, and it was for the purpose of comforting us and promising us that help has arrived, backed by the full resources of the Kingdom. He didn’t just come and look around and give us a few nice suggestions about how to pull ourselves up out of our disaster. He came to redeem, save, and rescue us. And he didn’t just visit … He stayed. And he gave His life — the most valuable resource of the Kingdom of Heaven — for us, orphans of the hurricane of sin. And He adopted us into the family of God. Forever.

This Christmas, I was (and continue to be) thankful more than ever to God for sending His Son to visit us. I am also thankful to Show Hope sponsors and donors, who not only helped my family visit two little orphan girls in Ethiopia, but to bring them home, give them a forever family, and introduce them to the One who gave His life for them.

-Jason Egly, pastor at Ekklesia Nashville

Addis Nigat was ten months old when she finally joined our family. Our daughter’s name, which means “new dawn,” brings us back to the very beginning when we simply felt that God was calling us to something “new.”

Our journey began while leaving a church service one afternoon. Both Tim and I felt God was calling us to something “new,” and although we didn’t fully understand what this meant, we distinctly felt that He was asking us to step out in faith and allow Him to do a new work in our lives. Completely unsolicited, we started to receive information about adoption, orphans, and Africa in the mail, through email, and in our encounters with people. It was almost unbelievable. Through ministries we were involved in, sermons, mission trips and other events in our lives, God really began to give us a heart for the orphan. As He continued to narrow our focus and grow our desire to give a child from Africa a family, we began to look for doors He was opening.

Starting the process of adopting from Ethiopia grew our faith. It was amazing to see how God provided by not only by choosing Addis specifically for our family, but also by caring for her when we could not. However, we continued to face many setbacks and getting our daughter home took three times longer than we originally expected. It was a marathon that sometimes made us wonder if it would ever really happen, but God continued to provide along the way.

One of the most meaningful parts of our adoption journey was when we finally passed court and Addis legally became our child. After all of the delays, health concerns, and financial struggles she was our daughter at last! We were finally able to bring her home. I look at Addis now and am so thankful that we answered God’s call to adopt. Our daughter has brought continuous joy to our lives and is such a beautiful reminder of God’s love for us.

Ultimately, this process has strengthened our confidence in God’s leading and has encouraged us to follow Him in other areas of our lives. It was a tremendous blessing for us to receive the adoption grant through Show Hope! Thank you for helping us bring Addis home!

-Kate Carlton

Help make more adoption miracles possible. Become a Show Hope sponsor today!

UPDATE – JANUARY 4  - Read the official Save the Adoption Tax Credit working group press release here. 

Good news to start off the year 2013! In light of the uncertainty of our nation’s fiscal situation, I am excited to announce that the Adoption Tax Credit that was due to expire at the end of 2012 was voted to be a permanent part of the tax code at $10,000 or more, as it was in 2001.

More than ten years ago my wife Kerry, the first staffer for the Adoption Caucus and the founding Executive Director of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, worked with our lawmakers to grow the Adoption Tax Credit. Now, years later, we invested time and energy in advocating through Show Hope and alongside many other key organizations (including my wife’s former company now 8 years removed) to make sure it did not fall through the cracks.

There were many aspects of the Adoption Tax Credit that we advocated for, and one of those was 100% “ refund-ability” (regardless of whether or not you owed taxes). Unfortunately, that component did not make the package. We are disappointed that this benefit didn’t make the package. However, considering the state of reform our government is currently in, we rejoice in the good news that this important issue was not forgotten!

Keep up-to-date on the status of the adoption tax credit and frequently asked questions by clicking here.

One of the hardest parts of our work here at Show Hope Care Centers like Maria’s Big House of Hope is saying goodbye. And yet it is also one of the best parts of our work here, for often that goodbye is imparted with the knowledge and hope that our children are getting ready to meet their forever families.

Over the past year, we have had the honor of seeing many children leave our Special Care Centers to enter loving families, often children who have been with us for some time. They are children we have loved, cared for, and watched as they have grown and blossomed. As Show Hope sponsors and donors, you have also followed their stories and have grown to love them as well. Some of you who traveled on short-term trips have even met them, held them, and played with them.

Many of you know Jessica and Jaelynn… both of them have been at Maria’s Big House of Hope since opening in 2009 and both were recently joined to their forever families!! We are overjoyed as have prayed and longed for the day when these two precious girls would know the love of a forever family.

We were also thrilled to find out that Moses and Brielle were being adopted. Not only were they adopted, but we recently found out that they were adopted into the same family! So now, not only were these best buddies re-united, but they will forever be brother and sister! Most recently we said goodbye to another little one whom we have all come to know and love dearly, Kitt. Kitt was by-far one of the friendliest little guys at MBHOH and his sweet smile and personality will be missed on our fourth floor.

As we welcome a new year and say a bitter-sweet goodbye to these children and to those who have joined their families in 2012, we are reminded that many remain who are still in need of life-giving care. Some of these children you have met, such as Hope, Janice, and Judah, and others  we look forward to telling you more about! We hope you will continue to pray with us each month, and to consider becoming a Show Hope sponsor to help make these miracles possible for more children through the amazing care at Show Hope Special Care Centers and adoption aid grants!

Watch the amazing slideshow of children who have been welcomed home from the care of Show Hope Care Centers in 2012 below!

Show Hope receives around 1,000 Adoption Aid applications every year.

I suspect you still get junk mail at home just like I do. But once in a while, something special comes along, like a card from a loved one or an invitation to a wedding. The envelope is usually a different size and the address is handwritten so it is compelling to tear open. Now imagine what an invitation from God would look like coming through the mail – unimaginable right!?

Over the years, the Chapmans and I have had many discussions about the needs of the 140 million+ orphans worldwide. It is an overwhelming number, and we would be foolish to think that we could solve the problem at large. Because of this, our conversations quickly move to God’s invitation to join His story in the lives of the orphans we are called to help through Show Hope.

The stories shared by Show Hope grant families and from our Care Centers are remarkable. There are likely thousands more children who God has called us to reach, and we continue to prayerfully consider how we can move our mission forward to help more orphans find permanent, loving families.

While we celebrate the hundreds of Adoption Aid grants we have given out this year, we pray that God will help us with the hundreds more we turn away each year due to a lack of funds. While we celebrate what the Lord has done through our Student Initiatives, we ask Him to multiply this fruit by providing the funding needed to reach even more students.

As Steven Curtis often says, “May you prayerfully consider how God might be ‘inviting’ you to be our partner.” In Show Hope’s communications and blogs, you will find a beautiful account of stories scripted by God showing us how He is loving children through the generosity of you and your fellow sojourners. God is inviting us to join the journey anew.

Both of these things are true – “Every good thing that we have has come from above (James 1:17), and “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). I believe God will bless you beyond your imagination as you generously and joyfully give from what He has entrusted to you to support this work to care for orphans through Show Hope.

Thank you for sharing your heart, time and resources with the ministry of Show Hope!

Scott Hasenbalg

The sites around our big blue house transformed in the past few weeks as hues of red and green, tinsel, and twinkling lights appeared to help us celebrate Christmas. Although it’s not a widely celebrated holiday in China, we love bringing Christmas cheer to Maria’s Big House of Hope and getting to celebrate with our children and staff.

Our nurses dug through boxes of Christmas decorations in search of the perfect pieces to decorate trees for their offices. We also have a large tree we put up in our entry way to brighten up the space. As we strung the lights and excitedly plugged them in, we found ourselves with a problem common to most…half the strand of lights did not work! This seems to be a global problem with Christmas lights!

As we dug through the boxes of ornaments, we also came across some sweet treasures; ornaments of Christmas past with pictures of babies that have been with us for several Christmases now. Just as a parent looks back at ornaments from their child’s past, we too rejoice and remember as we see how much our children have grown. Children such as Judah and Janice who have been with us and have come such a long way. Current preschool students Hope, Judah, Weston, and Arrayah are also getting in on the fun as they make ornaments to decorate their preschool classroom

Despite the suffering that we encounter on a daily basis in this home full of orphaned children with complex medical needs, we also have great reason to rejoice! Celebrating this holiday together reminds us of the hope we have because of the birth of one very special child — the Christ child! From all of us at Maria’s Big House of Hope and Show Hope, Merry Christmas!

This Christmas, be a part of the blessing! Give a Gift of Hope and transform the life of a child at Show Hope Special Care Centers >

SEE more MBHOH Christmas moments in the slideshow below!

Christmas can bring a rush of to-do lists and gifts to purchase. Giving thoughtful presents to those around us can be challenging, especially in our stuff-saturated lives. Bobbie wondered each year what to purchase her three co-workers for Christmas. They all had good jobs and didn’t really need anything. She also knew them well enough to be certain the items on their wish list would not be purchased with the fifteen or twenty dollars she had to spend on each of them. This year, Bobbie decided to shop the Show Hope Gift Catalog for their Christmas gifts. She carefully choose items from the online gift selection that she thought would be meaningful to each of them. For her friend from Bogotá, Colombia she gave the gift of supporting an orphan in South America.

She printed off a card from the Show Hope site describing what she had chosen for them, and inscribed each with the message:

“I’m giving to a charity on your behalf for Christmas. I regularly support Show Hope, which provides care for orphans globally and they assist families with adoption expenses. I believe this is what Christmas is all about–joining in God’s work here on earth. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Love, Bobbie”

Her friends were delighted, and her office mate from South America responded:

“This was a great gift, and I was even happier when I saw it goes to South America, there’s a lot of need there. Thank you!!! And you have inspired me to do the same thing.”

Shopping from the Show Hope Gift catalog may be the perfect solution for your “hard-to-buy-for” friends and family members. Instead of buying another gift card, tie or box of chocolates, make a selection from our catalog. You can shop without leaving the house and your gift will be used to meet the needs of children who are waiting for families. Simple. Needed. God-honoring. Join us in gifting with a purpose today.

Even before we were married, my husband and I felt the Lord calling us to adopt. During a trip to Asia, a strong burden was placed on our hearts for the children who had no forever families. As we married and had our first son, the burden was still there for the orphan. Just after our son turned one, we felt we needed to start the adoption process and were led to South Korea. Everything we did through this process was an exercise in faith because like many families in the adoption process, we faced many obstacles. While our biggest obstacle was financial, God prevailed and provided in ways that we could have never imagined. The support of Show Hope allowed us to pay fees and continue on our adoption journey to bring home our second son, Neylan.

We traveled to South Korea just 11 months after beginning the process, and brought Neylan home one week before his first birthday. One of our best memories of the entire process was the travel itself. We were determined to take our two-year-old son along for the ride because we wanted to be able to introduce him to his new brother for the first time. We are excited to be able to give Neylan a forever family and ensure that he knows about the God who loves him and wants an eternal relationship with him. Adoption has given our biological son a brother and best friend, and it has been fun to watch them develop their relationship and bond.

We were tremendously blessed to have been granted a large amount from Show Hope and for that we are so grateful. We were bless to never lack the money needed to pay for Neylan’s adoption when it was due. The work that Show Hope is doing to advocate for the fatherless is remarkable!

-Becca Foster

Be a part of more adoption aid miracles like this one. Give a Gift of Hope this Christmas >

When our children were still quite small, my husband and I began to celebrate Advent in our home. Each Sunday evening, we pause from our busy holiday schedules to gather around a table set with treats to read through the accounts leading up to the birth of our Savior. My husband dusts off his guitar and each child picks a Christmas carol for us to sing together. An Advent candle is lit on the wreath and we take time to recall what each light symbolizes. When each of these things is completed and bellies are full, the celebration comes to a close as each child is allowed to open one gift from under the tree.

“Advent is a waiting for something marvelous. But what happens when excitement and expectation ends in disappointment and calamity? What do you do when your Advent ends not in Christmas but in Good Friday?”

This question was recently posed by our pastor through an Advent devotional and it continues to lay on my heart – it was brought to mind after last week’s devastating events in Connecticut. Again it laid on my heart as I prayed for one of our staff members reeling in the aftermath of a beloved family member’s terrible car accident or another friend’s struggle with a debilitating illness. Even now I’m reminded of this question as I continue to pray for the millions of children in the world who remain without a home or family of their own this Christmas. What do you do when your Advent ends not in Christmas but in Good Friday?

The beauty of Advent runs much deeper than our simple celebrations of it. The Advent celebration we enjoy with our children leads us to be reminded of the even greater day we long for… the day when all will be made right.  The God who entered our midst as a tiny baby will come again to remake all that has been broken. He will wipe away every tear and bring all of creation to its rightful place. We live in the Advent of that day, and as we wait, we pray God would be pleased to use us in ever increasing ways to help bring healing to the brokenhearted, to help bind up the weak and wounded, and to care for orphans in their distress.

As we commemorate this season of expectant waiting, we pray that you will remember the waiting children around the world by giving a Gift of Hope.

May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from His glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:11-14